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Editor Lectures Program

Invited addresses by the MAA journal editors have been a popular feature of many section meetings over the years. The Editor Lectures Program has been developed to maintain and enhance the connection between the journal editors and the section membership.

Thus the goals of this program are to:

Regularly provide outstanding speakers to the sections.

Provide editors with opportunities to discuss their journal’s mission and policies with the membership.

Increase attendance at section meetings.

Increase the readership & subscription rates of the journals.

Increase the submission rates to each journal.

To accomplish these goals, in the second year after a section is eligible for a Polya Lecturer, a section is eligible for an Editor Lecture. The table below provides the schedule for when a section is eligible for a speaker.

The sections may invite any one of the editors from American Mathematical Monthly,, Mathematics Magazine, The College Mathematics Journal, Math Horizons and MAA Focus. The Executive Committee will review and modify this list periodically.

The Association will pay the travel expenses of speakers; the editor will pay his/her own travel expenses and will be reimbursed by the Association directly. Sections are not expected to provide a stipend, but it is customary for the section to waive any registration, banquet and social fees for the editor. The section leadership should designate some one to assist in making arrangements for travel, lodging, meals, local transportation and registration.

Because many section meetings are scheduled for a short "window" in the spring, editors are in high demand at that time. Therefore section leaders should extend invitations as early as possible. The MAA Secretary and Chair of the Council on Publications will assist if a section has difficulty scheduling an Editor Lecture, but early planning is essential.

After completing the visit, the editor will prepare a short report for the Chair of the Council on Publications summarizing the visit, with particular attention to items which might impact (positively or negatively) MAA publications. For example, the editor may identify names of potential reviewers, or encourage an individual to submit an article to one of the journals, or report compliments or complaints about electronic publications.

The first Editor Lectures occurred during the 2011–12 academic year. The program is supported at least through the 2017-2018 academic year and will be reviewed in spring 2018.